1 Corinthians 7:17

“Only, in each case as the Lord has apportioned to him, in each case as God has called him, so let him (the believer) walk.” Under this general rule the exceptional and guarded permission of divorce in 1 Corinthians 7:15 was to be understood. For εἰ μὴ in this exceptive sense (= πλήν), cf. Romans 14:14; Galatians 1:7; Galatians 1:19; see Bm [1077], p. 359. The repeated distributive ἔκαστος extends the principle pointedly to every situation in life; cf. 1 Corinthians 7:20; 1Co 7:24, 1 Corinthians 3:5; 1 Corinthians 3:8-13. On μεμέρικεν, see 1 Corinthians 7:33 and 1 Corinthians 1:12 : the Christian's secular status is a μέρος which “the Lord,” the Disposer of men's affairs, has assigned him (cf. Matthew 25:14 f.). ὡς κέκληκεν, on the other hand, refers not to the secular “vocation” but, as always (see 1 Corinthians 7:21; 1 Corinthians 7:21 f., 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 1:26, etc.), to the “call” of God's grace in the Gospel, which came to the individual readers under these circumstances or those. οὕτως περιπατείτω enjoins the pursuance of the Christian life in harmony with the conditions thus determined at its outset. P. does not mean to stereotype a Christian's secular employment from the time of his conversion, but forbids his renouncing this under a false notion of spiritual freedom, or in contempt of secular things as though there were no will of God for him in their disposition.

[1077] A. Buttmann's Grammar of the N.T. Greek (Eng. Trans., 1873).

The last clause of the ver. shows that the tendency here reproved was widespread; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 11:16 1 Corinthians 14:33; 1 Corinthians 14:36.